Miscellany

Thoughts from Navy

As the season goes on, I am surprised by how many people are turning on Charlie Weis. Notre Dame fandom was well aware of our talent deficiencies at the beginning of the year and that our schedule was going to be brutal. Of course, hope and optimism abound and the feeling was that Charlie's coaching was going to keep the floor from falling out.

Well, it hasn't. Charlie has made mistakes and his experience as a head coach is very apparent this year. The worst of these mistakes was not attempting the 40 yard field goal for the win on 4th down - going to the air in the third quarter after having a successful run game is another. The only reason this decision makes sense is if both kickers underwent amputation sometime in the fourth quarter.

So as much as this loss stings, what is the big picture? We got the pressure of the win streak of our backs (or, more importantly, removed as future incentive for scrappy Navy teams) and we got to give joy to another section of college football fandom. A win would not have saved our season - it's sunk already. No, I am not content with losing, but my expectations have been adjusted. I like that our offense was able to score some points against a weak defense and this is exactly what they need to get better. Honestly, I think a blowout win against a weak defense would have given them the impression they are better than they think (they're not) and a close game is something they also need to experience. The game could and should have been won and I was actually just happy to be at a game that had me on my feet past the first quarter.

Now, Air Force. The AF Academy is 7-3 with their wins coming against South Carolina State, Utah, TCU, UNLV, Colorado State, Wyoming, and Army. Their three losses are to BYU, Navy, and New Mexico. The loss to Navy is the only common opponent, which gives me some hope. Air Force has a new coach but is likely running a similar offense to years' past. While not having the history of the ND-Navy series, the ND-Air Force tilts have been more competitive over the last few decades, with close games and big upsets. Looking forward to our second win and first home victory of the season. Another first the Freshmen need to experience is the joy of winning at home.